Anomalous bond length behavior and a new solid phase of bromine under pressure

Disentangling the Effects of Laser and Electron Irradiation on AgX (X = Cl, Br, and I): Insights from Quantum Chemical Calculations

The effects on the lattice structure and electronic properties of different polymorphs of silver halide, AgX (X = Cl, Br, and I), induced by laser irradiation (LI) and electron irradiation (EI) are investigated using a first-principles approach, based on the electronic temperature (Te) within a two-temperature model (TTM) and by increasing the total number of electrons (Ne), respectively. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations provide a clear visualization of how Te and Ne induce a structural and electronic transformation process during LI/EI. Our results reveal the diffusion processes of Ag and X ions, the amorphization of the AgX lattices, and a straightforward interpretation of the time evolution for the formation of Ag and X nanoclusters under high values of Te and Ne. Overall, the present work provides fine details of the underlying mechanism of LI/EI and promises to be a powerful toolbox for further cross-scale modeling of other semiconductors.

Halogen molecular modifications at high pressure: the case of iodine

Metallization and dissociation are key transformations in diatomic molecules at high densities particularly significant for modeling giant planets. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and atomistic modeling, we demonstrate that in halogens, the formation of a connected molecular structure takes place at pressures well below metallization. Here we show that the iodine diatomic molecule first elongates by ∼0.007 Å up to a critical pressure of Pc ∼ 7 GPa, developing bonds between molecules. Then its length continuously decreases with pressure up to 15-20 GPa. Universal trends in halogens are shown and allow us to predict for chlorine a pressure of 42 ± 8 GPa for molecular bond-length reversal. Our findings contribute to tackling the molecule invariability paradigm in diatomic molecular phases at high pressures and may be generalized to other abundant diatomic molecules in the universe, including hydrogen.

Interplay of Intra- and Intermolecular Interactions in Solid Iodine at Low Temperatures: Experimental and Theoretic Spectroscopy Study

This work is devoted to the discussion of structural changes in crystalline iodine under low temperature studied from experimental and theoretic points of view. Experimental Raman spectra in the temperature range 5-300 K demonstrated unusual behavior of stretching vibration at ∼180 cm^-1 with temperature. The data allowed obtaining of ω( T) functions for both external translational and internal stretching modes of I₂. It was found that ω( T) trends significantly differ in comparison to typical van der Waals crystal α-S₈. The observed anomalies are explained from a theoretic point of view because of the strengthening of intralayer halogen bonding between I₂ molecules.

Band gap closure, incommensurability and molecular dissociation of dense chlorine

Diatomic elemental solids are highly compressible due to the weak interactions between molecules. However, as the density increases the intra- and intermolecular distances become comparable, leading to a range of phenomena, such as structural transformation, molecular dissociation, amorphization, and metallisation. Here we report, following the crystallization of chlorine at 1.15(30) GPa into an ordered orthorhombic structure (oC8), the existence of a mixed-molecular structure (mC8, 130(10)-241(10) GPa) and the concomitant observation of a continuous band gap closure, indicative of a transformation into a metallic molecular form around 200(10) GPa. The onset of dissociation of chlorine is identified by the observation of the incommensurate structure (i-oF4) above 200(10) GPa, before finally adopting a monatomic form (oI2) above 256(10) GPa.

Halogen Migration in Hybrid Perovskites: The Organic Cation Matters

In hybrid perovskite materials, the organic cations are one of the key structural components used to tune the electronic and optical properties of this promising class of materials. Here, we studied the strong impact of organic cations, methylammonium (MA) and formamidinium (FA), on halogen vacancy and interstitial migration, as well as surface degradation in cubic-phase MAPbBr₃ and FAPbBr₃ crystals using density functional theory calculations. We found Br vacancies and interstitials have much lower formation energies and higher density in MAPbBr₃ in comparison to FAPbBr₃ crystals. Moreover, the transition energy barrier for Br migration through vacancies within the bulk phase is lower in MAPbBr₃ than in FAPbBr₃. We also found that FAPbBr₃ has a much higher rotation barrier of the organic cation than MAPbBr₃, which points to a much stronger H-bonding with Br in the former case. Our results show that incorporating organic cations with the appropriate structure, shape, and strong H-bonding capabilities in hybrid perovskite crystals is very beneficial for suppressing ion migration and thus further improving the performance of hybrid perovskite-based devices.